South Dakota Hunting Photos & Stories

Every hunter likes to share stories about their experiences afield and many hunters like to hear these stories. The Photos & Stories section of BigGameHunt.net (BGH) allows hunters to share their hunting adventures in the form of stories and photos. Please feel free to browse, read, and contribute to this section of BGH.

When I was in college, I was a student in a program; a field course. It was an experimental type of class designed to see how students learned the sciences in field situations in an effort to make teaching more productive. As this program evolved over the years, it changed. It eventually became a class emphasizing on teaching a new type of lifestyle. By teaching these students about sustainable land use, conservation ethics and urban development, we could in fact; produce workers educated enough to deal with our modern day dilemmas.

Pronghorn Hunt: Two Years in the MakingDerek BunchMy father and I waited two years two draw a pronghorn tag in a specific unit in NW South Dakota. Our patience paid off and we were on our way. A day and a half's drive from SW Missouri and we reached Faith, South Dakota. We arrived on the 9th of Oct. and immediately set up camp and hopped on the four wheelers to get some scouting in. While we were scouting, I spotted what I thought was a white rear-end in the bottom of a valley, and sure enough it was an awesome pronghorn buck!

Mountain Lion on FireDuke DoeringNo Black Hills mountain lion hunt was more bizarre than the mountain lion that caught fire. David Gray's first lion hunt ended not only with a lion, but also with an unusual story. Gray, a retired South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Conservation Office is an avid hunter and has hunted most areas of the Black Hills. He is probably one of the most knowledgeable persons of game animals in the Black Hills. In preparing for his mountain lion hunt, Gray set up a blind in a brushy thicket a few miles north of Custer State Park.

South Dakota MuleyBob HealeyThis is by far the best deer I have shot! It is a clear 8 x 5, but there are actually 3 points on the left side that you can hang a ring off of (for boone and crockett scoring). So for B & C scoring it would be a 8 x 8. My taxidermist measured it and said it scored 205 with about 14 points in deductions (two sticker tines and one unmatched split tine on the back left fork). I have hunted the same area in NW South Dakota for over a dozen years. It is public land and has always been productive.

Let me start off by saying that I am a scaredy cat.
Of heights.
For someone that spent 3 years in 82nd Airborne jumping out of all manner of military aircraft, my friends find this ludicrous - but... it is what it is!
Climbing stand? Yep, still scared - put me up 15' and that is about it.
Ladder stands? I am better in these - but still cautious.
Chain on stands? Used to love them, now they terrify me.
I was once ridiculed for putting chain on stands waaaay too high - some of my friends...